Tour bus fee proposal deferred to Dec. 20

Tour bus fee proposal deferred to Dec. 20

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A package of ordinances proposing that tour companies pay special fees to resume tours of New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward has been deferred by the City Council until Dec. 20.

The proposed laws, which were brought before the council in November, would require hundreds of dollars in fees per vehicle and fines for those caught in the area without a decal or those that venture off approved tour routes.

The Lower 9th Ward neighborhood was devastated when levees failed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

A current ordinance bans tour buses from the neighborhood. It was passed in 2006 to keep tour operators from interfering with cleanup efforts. Many homes in the area were pushed off their foundations after floodwalls collapsed when Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005.